Won the court case against the Pension Fund, but the money is still not received: what to do in such a situation

If the court has ordered the Pension Fund of Ukraine to recalculate the pension or pay the arrears, but the decision is not being executed for a long time, it does not mean that the pensioner has lost the opportunity to receive the funds due to them. The legislation provides a clear mechanism for the enforcement of court decisions and also defines which authorities to contact depending on the content of the court decision. At the same time, there are peculiarities in pension disputes: the recalculation of the pension and the payment of arrears may occur at different times.

According to Article 129-1 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a court decision is mandatory for execution. The state ensures the enforcement of court decisions in the manner prescribed by law.

What to do if the Pension Fund does not comply with the court decision

If the court has ruled on recalculating the pension or paying the underpaid amounts, and the Pension Fund does not voluntarily comply, the citizen has the right to demand compulsory enforcement of such a decision.

To do this, it is necessary to:

• make sure that the court decision has come into legal force;
• obtain an enforcement writ from the court;
• submit the enforcement writ to the state enforcement service;
• after the enforcement proceedings are opened, the state executor will take measures to enforce the decision in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Enforcement Proceedings".

Who enforces decisions regarding the Pension Fund

According to paragraph 4 of section I of the Instruction on the organization of compulsory enforcement of decisions, decisions for which the debtors are, among others, territorial bodies of central executive authorities and their structural subdivisions, are enforced by the Department of Compulsory Enforcement of Decisions of the Departments for Ensuring Compulsory Enforcement of Decisions of the Interregional Departments of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

Therefore, the enforcement document obliging the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine to recalculate and pay the pension is subject to compulsory enforcement by the relevant Department of Compulsory Enforcement of Decisions of the Department for Ensuring Compulsory Enforcement of Decisions at the location of such Pension Fund body.

How decisions on pension recalculation and arrears payment are executed

If the court decision obliges the Pension Fund to recalculate the pension, the state executor controls the fulfillment of this obligation.

If the decision provides for the payment of arrears for past periods, then after the recalculation, the determined debt amount is to be paid to the pensioner.

At the same time, in pension payment cases, situations often arise where the court decision has already been executed in terms of pension recalculation, but the arrears payment is made later. This is related to budget financing and the order of enforcement of court decisions.

How to check the status of decision enforcement

You can monitor the progress of the court decision enforcement through the Automated Enforcement Proceedings System or by directly contacting the state executor handling the enforcement proceedings.

If the court decision is not enforced for a long time, the citizen has the right to appeal the inaction of the state executor or file a complaint to the head of the relevant state enforcement service body.

When to contact the State Treasury Service

A separate procedure applies to decisions that provide only for the collection of funds from the Pension Fund bodies of Ukraine without requiring a pension recalculation.

In case of non-enforcement of such decisions, enforcement documents must be submitted to the bodies of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine. This concerns decisions on the collection of funds, not those obliging the Pension Fund to recalculate the pension.

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